Tag: cut

On Tuesday, Hillary Clinton was honored by the Children’s Health Fund, and she addressed a gathering of the organization’s members and supporters. During her speech, Clinton criticized President Donald Trump for the budget his administration proposed this week. She said that “this administration and Republicans in Congress are mounting an onslaught against the needs of children and people with disabilities, women and seniors.” The Trump budget calls for cuts in a number of programs that benefit the poor and disabled including food stamps and Medicaid. Clinton urged everyone to stand up to the president and Congressional Republicans saying, “It hurts the well-being of children. It’s time to send a resounding message that we will not stand for this attack on the most vulnerable among us.” Watch a video of Clinton’s speech below.

Before the majority of Americans head to the polls on Tuesday, the campaign has heated up in the battle between Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. Clinton has outlined a comprehensive platform while what has been offered by Trump little substance and foundation. Clinton’s platform is built on a career of public service and an understanding of domestic and foreign policies. While everyone may not agree with all of platform points, taken as a whole it is clear that she has put together a solid plan to more the country forward and ensure that everyone has an opportunity to live up to their full potential.

When Clinton has introduced a major platform topic, we add it to the Platform category of the website. Looking through Clinton’s speeches and policy proposals, a clear plan emerges. From Clinton’s kickoff rally in June 2015 to the announcement of her plan to combat bullying just a few weeks ago, a list of Clinton’s platform speech topics and announcement dates are below:

Donald Trump has held 32 events at Trump properties in 16 months of running for President

Today, Hillary Clinton returned to Florida to layout what’s on the ballot this election — an economy that works for everyone not just those at the top. She shared her vision for more good jobs, economic fairness and how to bring Americans together. Meanwhile, Trump spent the morning promoting the opening of his new hotel, making this the 32nd event at Trump properties in 16 months of running for president.

From his using his presidential campaign to promote his business, to a decades-long practice of stiffing small businesses, to outsourcing jobs, to his proposal to cut taxes for billionaires like himself at the expense of everyone else, Trump’s self-serving agenda is clear. America deserves better than Trump – a candidate who would rather line his own pockets than prioritize our economy, businesses, and workers.

Donald Trump’s trickle-down economic tax plan would include cutting taxes for billionaires like himself and his family, at the expense of everyone else.

Trump has doubled down on his promise to repeal the estate tax, which would give his own family as much as a $4 billion windfall. Just think about what we could do instead with that one $4 billion windfall alone, which is just for Donald Trump’s family, if we invested it in America.

Trump’s plan includes a massive loophole that gives many millionaires and billionaires like himself a backdoor tax cut, letting them pay less than half the current tax rate on a substantial portion of their income.

Trump claims his tax cuts would be paid for by economic growth – but they come at the expense of hardworking Americans. Far from growing the economy, experts on both sides of the aisle predict that Trump’s plans would risk a recession.

Trump called his tax avoidance “smart.” Trump’s tax avoidance is not smart – it means $0 for first responders, $0 for education, $0 for veterans and $0 for our military.

New York Times: “Trump declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial it could have allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes for up to 18 years.”

New York Times: “Donald J. Trump explicitly acknowledged for the first time during the first presidential debate that he used a $916 million loss that he reported on his 1995 income tax returns to avoid paying personal federal income taxes for years.” Trump’s business failures eventually led to multiple bankruptcies of his companies, which were devastating for his former employees and small contractors. Trump continued to earn millions.

Trump’s business failures eventually led to multiple bankruptcies of his companies, which were devastating for his former employees and small contractors. Trump continued to earn millions.

New York Times: “But even as his companies did poorly, Mr. Trump did well. He put up little of his own money, shifted personal debts to the casinos and collected millions of dollars in salary, bonuses and other payments. The burden of his failures fell on investors and others who had bet on his business acumen.”

Wall Street Journal: “An analysis by Temple University law professor Jonathan Lipson ranked Trump-branded casinos ‘the worst’ among their peers when it came to jobs over a 14-year period. Mr. Lipson, a bankruptcy scholar, found that Trump casinos shed some 7,400 jobs between 1997 and 2010. That works out, on average, to job losses per casino of 900—37% higher than at other Atlantic City gambling venues in the same period.”

Trump has repeatedly refused to make good on his obligations to pay small businesses and contractors for work – from Marty Rosenberg, whose family business was paid hundreds of thousands less than it was owed for its work at Trump’s casino, to Andrew Tesoro, the architect of one of Trump’s golf course clubhouse who was told by Trump’s lawyers to accept pennies on the dollar or he’d be tied up in court for years.

Trump doesn’t buy American-made and his own products are outsourced.

The products that are branded with Trump’s name are outsourced from at least 12 countries. That doesn’t include the products used in his hotels and casinos, from bed linens made in Italy to furniture made in China.

Trump has used his campaign to promote and funnel money into his businesses.

Politico: “Trump has used the campaign itself as a marketing platform to promote everything from the difficult-to-find Trump Steaks to his golf courses and a new Washington hotel. Trump’s tangle of businesses has raised concerns about the potential for conflicts of interest should he win the presidency, while the Trump-branded campaign has drawn mockery and allegations of pocket-padding from Trump’s critics.’”

Huffington Post: “Donald Trump used small donors’ money to buy nearly $300,000 worth of books from the publisher of his Art of the Deal last month, continuing a pattern of plowing campaign money back into his own businesses.”

@KatyTurNBC: “After this morning’s ribbon cutting, Trump will have held 32 events at Trump properties in 16 months of running for President”

Today, Trump is Washington, DC to open a new luxury hotel where he unsurprisingly used undocumented workers to make his project cheaper. He even sued the District of Columbia in an attempt to pay lower taxes for the property.

Washington Post: “[A] Trump company may be relying on some undocumented workers to finish the $200 million hotel, which will sit five blocks from the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue, according to several who work there.”

Politico: “The city of Washington, D.C., is fighting Donald Trump’s legal drive to cut his tax bills for the luxury hotel he’s set to open in the Old Post Office Building next month … Attorneys for the Republican presidential nominee and real estate mogul contend that the roughly $1.7 million annual tax bills for the development for 2015 and 2016 were too high.”

On Thursday, Hillary for America responded to an ad from Donald Trump that characterized a number of Trump’s key policies. Hillary for America Deputy Communications Director Christina Reynolds responded to the ad with the following statement and breakdown of the claims made.

“Another day, another false ad from Trump. The truth is Trump’s plan actually raises taxes on millions of middle class families, especially working single moms and dads, and showers the wealthy with huge tax cuts. Hillary Clinton has pledged not to raise taxes on the middle class and will work to build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. This stands in strong contrast to Donald Trump, who apparently did not pay a cent in federal income taxes for nearly 20 years and is now trying to hide the fact that his economic plan represents a huge boon to the very wealthy.”

TRANSCRIPT

TRUMP RECORD

VOICEOVER: What does electing Donald Trump president mean for you? Families making $60,000 a year? You get a 20% tax rate reduction.

MILLIONS OF FAMILIES, INCLUDING SINGLE PARENTS, WOULD SEE TAX INCREASES UNDER TRUMP’S TAX PLAN

Washington Post: “More Than Half Of America’s Single Parents And One-Fifth Of Its Families With Children Could See Their Federal Income Taxes Go Up Under Republican Donald Trump’s Revamped Tax Plan.” “More than half of America’s single parents and one-fifth of its families with children could see their federal income taxes go up under Republican Donald Trump’s revamped tax plan, according to a new analysis of the plan by a New York University professor who previously served as a tax specialist for the Obama administration and the Senate Finance Committee.” [Washington Post, 9/24/16]

Washington Post: “The Analysis Estimates That More Than Half Of Single Parents Would See Tax Increases.” “The analysis estimates that more than half of single parents would see tax increases, because Trump eliminates what is called ‘head of household’ filing status, which gives single parents a higher standard deduction and lower rates than they otherwise would have had. Other researchers have also flagged that possibility. ‘Single parents get hit with all three of the tax increases under Trump’s plan’ — the loss of personal deductions, the loss of head-of-household status and higher rates on some income — said Harry Stein, the director of fiscal policy for the liberal Center for American Progress Action Fund, who has written about the potential effects of the Trump plan.” [Washington Post, 9/24/16]

POLITIFACT SAID IT WAS TRUE TO SAY EXPERTS FOUND TRUMP’S TAX PLAN COULD RAISE TAXES ON SOME MIDDLE CLASS FAMILIES

PolitiFact Said Hillary Clinton Was Correct In Saying Independent Experts Found Trump’s Tax Plan Would Add $5 Trillion To The Debt And Disadvantage Middle Class Families. “Clinton said that, according to ‘independent experts,’ Trump’s tax plan ‘would blow up the debt by over $5 trillion and would in some instances disadvantage middle-class families compared to the wealthy.’ Batchelder’s past work for Senate Democrats and the Obama White House may lead some to question whether she is an ‘independent expert.’ But her estimate of the debt increase was mirrored by findings by the more conservative Tax Foundation and the deficit-hawk Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. And the Tax Foundation said Batchelder’s analysis of tax increases for some families seemed ‘reasonable.’ We rate Clinton’s statement True.” [PolitiFact, 9/27/16]

VOICEOVER: Working moms? You get paid maternity leave and an average $5,000 childcare tax reduction.

TRUMP’S MATERNITY LEAVE POLICY WOULD LEAVE OUT SINGLE MOTHERS, FATHERS AND ADOPTIVE PARENTS

Ivanka Trump Said Her Father’s Paid Maternity Leave Was Meant To Help “The Mother Who Has Given Birth To The Child If They Have Legal Married Status Under The Tax Code.” Q: “OK, so when it comes to same-sex—” IVANKA TRUMP: “So it’s meant to benefit, whether it’s in same-sex marriages as well, to benefit the mother who has given birth to the child if they have legal married status under the tax code.” Q: “Well, what about gay couples, where both partners are men?” IVANKA TRUMP: “The policy is fleshed out online, so you can go see all the elements of it. But the original intention of the plan is to help mothers in recovery in the immediate aftermath of childbirth.” [Cosmopolitan, 9/14/16]

Trump’s Plan Specifically Provides Leave To Mothers, Not To Fathers Or To Those Who Need Paid Leave To Care For A Seriously Ill Family Member. “What about dads? The plan applies to women — specifically, mothers. It doesn’t apply to fathers or those who have to care for a family member with a serious illness, unlike the existing federal legislation. ‘Trump frames it as maternity leave. We don’t target a specific gender under the family paid leave program in the U.S. It’s available to a families as a whole,’ noted Mathur.” [NBC News, 9/14/16]

TRUMP’S CHILD CARE PLAN PROVIDES A DEDUCTION UP TO A STATE’S AVERAGE COST OF CHILD CARE – NOT A REDUCTION OF $5,000

Trump Campaign: “The [Childcare] Deduction Would Be Limited To The Average Cost Of Child Care… The Deduction Would Be Limited To $5,000 Per Year.” “The exclusion would apply to a variety of different kinds of childcare—institutional, private, nursery school, afterschool care, and enrichment activities—affording choice to parents. The deduction would be limited to the average cost of childcare in the state of residence for the age of the child. […] Similarly, the Trump plan would also allow an above-the-line deduction for eldercare costs necessary to keep a family member working outside the home. It would apply to costs like home care or adult day care costs for elderly dependents when those expenses are needed to keeping family members in the workforce. The deduction would be limited to $5,000 per year.” [Donald Trump Childcare Plan, accessed 10/6/16]

A FAMILY MAKING $60,000, SUBJECT TO A 15% INCOME TAX RATE, WOULD SAVE $750 – BECAUSE 15% OF $5,000 IS $750

TRUMP’S CHILD CARE PLAN WOULD HELP THE RICH FAR MORE THAN THE MIDDLE CLASS

Under Trump’s Plan, Wealthy Families Making $500,000 A Year Would Get A Child Care Tax Break Over 2.6 Times Larger Than The One A Family Making $60,000 Would Get. “The centerpiece of Trump’s child care plan is a tax deduction, which is simply the wrong policy for making child care affordable, since it will always offer the most help to those who need it the least. For example, under Trump’s plan, wealthy families making $500,000 would get a child care tax break that is 2.64 times larger than the same tax break for a family making $60,000. Put another way, Trump would give the wealthy family a tax deduction worth $39.60 for every $100 they pay for child care, since they are in the 39.6 percent tax bracket. Meanwhile, the middle-class family in the 15 percent tax bracket would get a tax deduction worth only $15 for every $100 spent on child care. Even if the middle-class family spends the same amount as the wealthy family for child care, the wealthy family’s tax cut is much larger.” [Harry Stein, US News, 9/14/16]

TRUMP’S CHILD CARE PLAN WILL “BARELY MAKE A DENT” IN THE CHILD CARE COSTS OF FAMILIES WHO DON’T PAY INCOME TAXES

Trump’s Child Care Tax Deduction Wouldn’t Help The 44 Percent Of Families That Don’t Pay Income Taxes, And Trump’s Solution To That, An Annual Rebate “Will Barely Make A Dent” In Most Child Care Bills. “And tax deductions do nothing for the 44 percent of families that don’t earn enough to pay income taxes. Trump’s solution for accommodating these lower-income families is to offer a rebate of $1,200 per year. With average child care expenses exceeding the cost of rent and college tuition in most states, this rebate will barely make a dent in most families’ child care bills.” [Vivien Labaton, CNBC, 9/14/16]

Trump’s End-Of-Year Tax Break Wouldn’t Help Families That Pay Child Care Costs On A Weekly Or Monthly Basis. “Second, most families have to pay their child care provider weekly or monthly, so an end-of-year tax break is no help. Trump’s child care plan assumes parents can pay thousands of dollars up-front each month to even qualify for his deduction, and then wait up to a year to get reimbursed. When you’re struggling every week to make ends meet, an end-of-year deduction or rebate is too little too late.” [Vivien Labaton, CNBC, 9/14/16]

TRUMP CLAIMED HE OFFERED CHILD CARE FOR HIS EMPLOYEES, BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY A PROGRAM FOR RESORT GUESTS TO GET AMENITIES LIKE CHILD SPA SERVICES

“Trump Kids” And “Trumpeteers” Were Programs For Guests Of Trump’s Hotels And A Golf Club, Not His Employees. “The billionaire real estate mogul, who previously voiced his opposition to government-funded universal pre-K programs, said in Newton, Iowa, in November 2015 that he had visited many companies that offered workers on-site child-care centers — and added that he offered such programs himself. […] Trump pointed specifically to two programs: ‘They call ’em Trump Kids. Another one calls it Trumpeteers, if you can believe it. I have ’em. I actually have ’em, because I have a lot of different businesses.’ […] But the two programs Trump cited — ‘Trump Kids’ and ‘Trumpeteers’ — are programs catering to patrons of Trump’s hotels and golf club. They are not for Trump’s employees, according to staff at Trump’s hotels and clubs across the country.” [Associated Press, 8/11/16]

VOICEOVER: Business owners, your taxes get cut from 35% to 15% so you can expand and create more jobs.

TRUMP PLEDGED TO LOWER THE CORPORATE TAX RATE TO 15%, AND MAKE PASS THROUGH INCOME SUBJECT TO THAT RATE, WHICH COULD SAVE HIM MILLIONS

CBPP: “Mr. Trump’s Plan Would Set The Individual Tax Rate On Pass-Through Business Income At 15 Percent, Ten Percentage Points Below His Proposed 25 Percent Top Tax Rate On Ordinary Income.” “Mr. Trump’s plan would set the individual tax rate on pass-through business income at 15 percent, ten percentage points below his proposed 25 percent top tax rate on ordinary income. If the ability to escape a 2.9 percent payroll tax (the payroll tax rate that would otherwise apply) encourages wealthy pass-through business owners to reclassify their labor earnings as ‘business’ income, a ten percentage-point tax-rate differential would provide a far greater incentive for such taxpayers to try to classify more of their ordinary earnings as pass-through business income.” [Center On Budget And Policy Priorities, 8/8/16]

Trump Claimed His 2015 Income Was “In Excess” Of $557 Million Excluding Dividends, Interest, Capital Gains, Rents, And Royalties. “Mr. Trump’s income as reported in the PFD statement is in excess of $557 million (which does not include dividends, interest, capital gains, rents and royalties). Mr. Trump’s net worth has increased since the last statement was filed in July of 2015. As of this date, Mr. Trump’s net worth is in excess of $10 billion dollars.” [Donald Trump, Press Release, 5/17/16]

VOICEOVER: Donald Trump. Prosperity for you, America great again.

TRUMP’S ECONOMIC POLICIES WOULD PUSH AMERICA TOWARDS A RECESSION AND LEAD TO 3.5 FEWER MILLION JOBS

A Moody’s Analytics Report On Trump’s Economic Proposals On Taxes, Trade, Immigration And Spending Found That Trump’s Policies Could Sharply Reduce Economic Output And Reduce Employment By 3.5 Million Jobs During His First Term. “A new analysis concludes Donald Trump’s economic proposals, taken at face value, could produce a prolonged recession and heavy job losses that would fall hardest on low- and middle-income workers. The Moody’s Analytics report, which a person close to the Trump campaign strongly disputed, is the first that attempts to quantify the cumulative economic benefits and costs of Mr. Trump’s proposals on taxes, trade, immigration and spending. It determines that full adoption of those policies would sharply reduce economic output during his first term and reduce employment by 3.5 million jobs.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/20/16]

Moody’s Concluded That Trump’s Trade And Immigration Policies Would Sharply Boost The Prices Of Labor And Goods And Contribute To A Recession In 2018. “The report singles out trade and immigration policies as the most detrimental to the economy in the short run because they could sharply boost labor and goods prices at a time when there’s less slack in the labor market. ‘It is a massive supply shock to the economy that’s very pernicious, and the Fed doesn’t know how to respond to that,’ said Mr. Zandi. Moody’s concludes that those price pressures would force the central bank to raise interest rates at a faster-than-desired pace, contributing to a recession in 2018 that could produce a 25% drop in the S&P 500.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/20/16]

TRUMP REPEATEDLY CLAIMED AMERICAN WAGES WERE ALREADY “TOO HIGH”

Trump Opposed Raising The Minimum Wage Because: “Wages Too High, We’re Not Going To Be Able To Compete Against The World.” Trump said he wouldn’t raise the minimum wage, and the reason is that America ‘is a country that is being beaten on every front.’ The problem, he said: ‘Taxes too high, wages too high, we’re not going to be able to compete against the world. I hate to say it, but we have to leave it the way it is. People have to go out, they have to work really hard, and they have to get into that upper stratum.’” [The Week, 11/10/15; Republican Primary Debate, Milwaukee WI, 11/10/15]

Trump: “We Have To Become Competitive With The World. Our Taxes Are Too High, Our Wages Are Too High. Everything Is Too High.” TRUMP: “But you know what? We have to become competitive with the world. Our taxes are too high, our wages are too high. Everything is too high.” [Morning Joe, MSNBC, 11/11/15; The Hill, 11/11/15]

TRUMP PLANS TO ELIMINATE THE ESTATE TAX, WHICH COULD SAVE HIS FAMILY $4 BILLION

CNN: Trump’s Family Could Owe $3.997 Billion In Estate Tax. “Donald Trump says that he is worth $10 billion. We’ll go with his numbers, though it is worth pointing out that other estimates put Trump’s net worth around $4.5 billion. Trump falls into the top tax bracket and would owe 40% on his assets above the $5.45 million lifetime exemption, which leaves his estate with a $3.997 billion tax liability. […] So it’s TRUE that 99.8% of Americans would not benefit from the elimination of the estate tax. It is also TRUE that Trump’s family could owe just less than $4 billion in estate taxes if the family does not use any loopholes or exemptions.” [CNN, 9/25/16]

TRUMP’S TAX PLAN WOULD CREATE A NEW LOOPHOLE FOR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPERS, COSTING MORE THAN A TRILLION DOLLARS

New York Times: “It’s Hard To Imagine A Tax Code More Favorable To Real Estate Developers Than The One We Already Have. Donald Trump Has Come Up With One.” [James Stewart, New York Times, 9/1/16]

New York Times: Trump’s Tax Plan “Piles On New [Tax Breaks] For Real Estate Developers Like Mr. Trump Himself — At An Estimated Cost Of More Than $1 Trillion In Tax Revenue Over A Decade.” “Thanks to some major loopholes in the existing tax code that treat real estate developers as a special privileged class, it’s entirely possible (even likely) that Mr. Trump pays little or no federal income tax. But Mr. Trump’s new tax proposal doesn’t just preserve those breaks, it piles on new ones for real estate developers like Mr. Trump himself — at an estimated cost of more than $1 trillion in tax revenue over a decade.” [James Stewart, New York Times, 9/1/16]

Republican Economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin: “If You Want To Create A Recipe For An Abusive Tax Shelter, Take Those Elements And Bake For 15 Minutes.” [James Stewart, New York Times, 9/1/16]

In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Wednesday, Hillary Clinton outlined her proposals to help America’s poor and ensuring that they have equal access to resources. Recalling her time at the Children’s Defense Fund, Clinton says that she considers ensuring children are not raised in poverty as a top priority should she be elected president. Clinton outlines her plan which includes a series of tax credits, community investments, and a series of reforms. A copy of Clinton’s editorial is below.

The true measure of any society is how we take care of our children. With all of our country’s resources, no child should ever have to grow up in poverty. Yet every single night, all across America, kids go to sleep hungry or without a place to call home.

We have to do better. Advocating for children and families has been the cause of my life, starting with my first job as a young attorney at the Children’s Defense Fund, and if I have the honor of serving as president, it will be the driving mission of my administration.

The good news is that we’re making progress, thanks to the hard work of the American people and President Obama. The global poverty rate has been cut in half in recent decades. In the United States, a new report from the Census Bureau found that there were 3.5 million fewer people living in poverty in 2015 than just a year before.

Median incomes rose by 5.2 percent, the fastest growth on record. Households at all income levels saw gains, with the largest going to those struggling the most. The census report makes clear that when hard-working Americans get a small boost — like food stamps and health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act — they can climb out of poverty.

But make no mistake: We still have work to do. Families across the country were devastated by the Great Recession.

Nearly 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 60 will experience a year in poverty at some point. The best way to help families lift themselves out of poverty is to make it easier to find good-paying jobs. As president, one of my top priorities will be increasing economic growth that’s strong, fair and lasting. I will work with Democrats and Republicans to make a historic investment in good-paying jobs — jobs in infrastructure and manufacturing, technology and innovation, small businesses and clean energy. And we need to make sure that hard work is rewarded by raising the minimum wage and finally guaranteeing equal pay for women.

If we want to get serious about poverty, we also need a national commitment to create more affordable housing. This issue doesn’t get much election-year coverage, but it’s a big deal to the 11.4 million American households that spend more than half their incomes on rent. Too many people are putting off saving for their children or retirement just to keep a roof over their families’ heads.

My plan would expand Low Income Housing Tax Credits in high-cost areas to increase our affordable housing supply, and fuel broader community development. So if you are a family living in an expensive city, you would be able to find an affordable place to call home and have access to the transportation you need to get to good jobs and quality schools.

We also need to ensure that our investments are reaching the communities suffering the most from decades of neglect. We have got to acknowledge that even though poverty overall has fallen, extreme poverty has increased. Tim Kaine and I will model our anti-poverty strategy on Congressman Jim Clyburn’s 10-20-30 plan, directing 10 percent of federal investments to communities where 20 percent of the population has been living below the poverty line for 30 years. And we’ll put special emphasis on minority communities that have been held back for too long by barriers of systemic racism.

As president, I will continue my life’s work focused on creating opportunities for children and fairness for families. We need to expand access to high-quality child care and guarantee paid leave so parents at all income levels can balance their jobs and lives. And we will work to double investments in Early Head Start and make preschool available to every 4-year-old because our children deserve the best possible start in life.

Donald J. Trump has a different approach. He divides America into winners and losers. And he doesn’t seem to spend much time worrying about people in poverty. In fact, his economic plans would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest Americans, and would include an estimated $4 billion tax cut for his own family just by eliminating the estate tax. He has actually said that wages are too high. One independent economic analysis revealed that with Mr. Trump’s proposals in place, our economy would fall back into recession and inevitably push more families into poverty.

This November, the American people will have to choose between an economy that works for everyone and an economy that benefits the well off at the expense of everyone else. The choice couldn’t be clearer.